NEWS FEATURE

Massive building
project changing
the face of the Pearl

By Tim McDonald,
National Golf Editor

SUNSET BEACH, N.C. (March 22, 2005) - The Pearl Golf Links raised more than a few hackles with Grand Strand golfers and golf packagers last year when it raised some of its rates by nearly 30 percent.

Such drastic green fee increases usually coincide with renovations or other big improvements, but the complaint then was that Pearl had done nothing to the course to warrant such a fee hike, which put it in league with some of the Strand's more expensive big boys.

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That was then. As for the now, the Brunswick County, N.C., course at the northern tip of the Strand is in the process of a construction project that officials say will radically alter this part of the county.

Owner DeCarol Williamson has embarked on a building construction project estimated to be 10-15 years in the making. That includes a hotel and spa with 80-120 rooms, a bed and breakfast and about 3,000 other housing units in more than 200 buildings on the site, located on 900 acres of a marsh preserve that straddles both Sunset Beach and Ocean Isles Beach.

It will also include a new teaching center, a "town center" with shops, botanical gardens and a new entrance on Highway 179 complete with fountains and statue. There will be parks and garden trails throughout the property and Williamson is erecting a new warehouse on the grounds where the new buildings will be constructed. Oh, there will be a tennis center and lawn bowling, too.

"It's big - a massive, massive project," head pro Matt Griffin said.

The current configuration will change; the clubhouse will feature a new bag drop so that when golfers pull up, the carts won't be visible.

"My ultimate goal is once they pull in, they never see their car again," Griffin said. Until they finish the round, of course.

The clubhouse has already undergone a $1.3 million renovation and features a new restaurant, the Pearl Grille, which opened this month.

There are no houses on the course now, so the new look will be very different from the old. The hotel will overlook the 16th fairway and, beyond, the Calabash River. The bed and breakfast, with a colonial design, will be where the current maintenance building is located.

The course itself may change as well. "We're talking about some renovations to the West course," said Bill McMillan, sales director for Fore-Travel, which Williamson also owns. "Those are in the initial planning stages, but nothing is concrete."

With the new improvements, can Grand Strand golfers expect to see more green fee hikes?

"Only through natural progression, and only based on what the market will bear," McMillan said. "Just natural price increases - decreases if the market slows down."

The idea, officials said, is to be more competitive with other Grand Strand courses by offering more upscale housing units, something this part of the Strand lacks. Several Strand courses have sold out to developers in recent years as they watched land become more valuable than the golf business.

"The owner was out here moving earth with a bulldozer," Griffin said. "He really wants to make this a destination."

The Pearl's two courses, both Dan Maples designs, have similarities as well as stark contrasts. Both have the last three holes playing along the river and end with par-5s, but that's where the similarities end.

The West course has more of a links-style feel, with an open, airy feel and thick stands of pampas grass. It earned a nomination from Golf Digest in 1988 as "best new public course."

The East is more traditional, with trees lining many of its fairways. The East was renovated in 1999 and the greens were re-done two years ago, sod with L93 bentgrass.

"You can get in more trouble on the East," Griffin said. "On the West, you can spray the ball around more on the course."

The West course, at slightly more than 7,000 yards, is the longer of the two, featuring a 604-yard par-5 14th. "It plays about 650, usually into the wind," Griffin said. The East measures 6,793 yards.

Maintenance crews overseed the East course wall-to-wall. Only the tees and fairways on the West are overseeded, giving a much more noticeable contrast.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.